DmitryZ

Hello everyone.

I’ve been a lurker on this forum for quite some time. I always wanted to get a 350Z, but it is hard to justify a new car when the old one still runs. So I told myself that when my 1989 240sx dies, I’d get a new car. This morning it did just that (dead starter…. or so my mechanic tells me). It will get fixed but the matters will only get worse (It is a 14 yr old car after all!!!) and I need to get to work consistently every day. Anyway, I was really hoping to start looking for a 350Z in the spring but I will start now. I live in North Jersey (Union County, Westfield, rt. 22 -> that general area) and if you had a good or bad experience buying your 350Z in North Jersey or anywhere else in NJ, I would like to hear from you. Currently, I will look at East Coast Nissan (formerly Bristol Nissan), Nissan World of Springfield, and Route 22 Nissan (I drive by that place every day and they seem to have/move a lot of 350’s). I don’t mind driving out of my way to find the right dealer. I do believe that some dealers are scumbags (read P.S. below) and that is exactly the kind of place that I would like to avoid. Thanks for the help.

Dmitry

P.S.
If hell freezes over, all car companies go out of business except Nissan, and the only place you could buy a car would be Route 1 Nissan Woodbridge (also known as Sansone) I would walk to work!!!!!!!

qirex

avoid difeo nissan rt440 Jersey city

I bought my Z from them and had to haggle ~4hrs for them to drop the damn markup from $7500!!! down to $1500.

I needed a car BAD, as my prelude had a bad trans, leaking motor and shot brakes.

COuld I have waited, I would have cashed in on the good deals now.

BEWARE the snow however!!!!

some proper blizzaks would be great but for me its not an option - as I'm moving to socal in a few months.

k2we

Hi Dmitry, I really can't help you with a dealer in New Jersey as I live accross the river in New York but to make things easy, Contact you local office of the Better Business Bureau and ask for a report on all the local Nissan dealers. This is a great place to start and weed out the ones with the most complaints.

As posted in the message before. The "Z" IS NOT A CAR FOR THE SNOW. If you really must get to work regardless of the weather, I would not look at the "Z". I still have my 1996 Yukon 4X4 and would never use the "Z" in the snow. A rear wheel drive car with very low ground clearance, almost no weight in the back and the wide, low profile tires make a very bad combination. Even with good snow tires and adding an extra 200-300 lbs in the rear, the car would be marginal at best.

I'd wait till the spring to think about a "Z" unless you could make a good deal below MSRP because the cars are not selling well in the winter months.

Good Luck..

Steve (k2we) Dobbs Ferry, NY

Touring/6MT/Chrome Silver/Mats & Side air bags 4350+ miles in 3 1/2 months Car is snug as a bug under it's cover while it's snowing here..

DmitryZ

Thanks for the replies.


As I mentioned before, I have a 1989 240sx. It’s a 5sp, rwd, no abs, no traction control, and has tires that I consider to be summer not all season. The first time I ever took my car out in the light snow (6 years ago … omg has it been that long?) I wound up going sideways in an incoming lane! I have gotten used to the car so much since then that it does not happen or bother me anymore. In fact, I love taking it out in the snow with someone in the passenger seat and doing my rally driver impression (do not do this in populated areas)! However, I will not be driving a Z in the snow. SALT, I hate SALT. I cannot possibly buy such a beautiful car and have it covered in that white crap. So if my 240 still runs after today I will get a set of blizzaks (or equivalent) and have it as my winter beater car. If not, I will have to bite the bullet this year and pick up a beater over the summer.

As far as BBB goes. I did check out the dealerships on their website (would i get more info if I called my local office?). But my feelings on BBB are rather mixed. I have used BBB in the past and they somewhat helped me. My friend used BBB in the past and they helped him a lot. However, from what I know, companies have a way of getting good ratings with them regardless of their business practices (see my previous post-Sansone has a good rating with them). Note: I don’t want to start any conflicts with this it is just my opinion, but some time ago I did a research on this and I found some rather disturbing articles (I have to see if I can find them again). I think BBB is a good starting point but your personal experiences are more valuable to me.

Keep em coming,

Dmitry

qirex

well I must admit that I ised to love playing rallydriver with my Gen5 prelude.

While it too had no VDC, RW, LSD, TCS it was FF but it was *controllable*.

The Z on the other hand simply DOES NOT WORK (IE GO) in the icce/snow.
The *best* you can get is a lightpack (1/4") of soft snow on the sidesreets and ice/plow on the big roads (NJ is great about that)...as now you can at least do 20-30mph safely. However, when the water freeezes or the snow is thick....VDC prevents the wheel from even turning (at a standstill) and is COMPLETELY ineffective if youre oversteering TOO MUCH...the tire simply had no traction.The Z then bbecomes unsafe at ANY speed.

That said...I think if you invest in All-seasons, pref blizzaks and throw a sandbag in the rear...combines with your 240 experience...you should be okay till the spring....

k2we

Dmitry, Don't use the BBB website.. Call your local office and talk to a person. I've never had a problem with an auto dealer reccomended by the BBB, showing a good rating.. By the way, the local BBB office will be happy to FAX copies of any complaints..While personal recomendations help a lot, salesman come and go so a person who had a good experience means nothing. I've delt with the same nissan dealer.. it used to be Datsun.. where I ordered my original 260Z. I ordered my 350Z in febuary and it arrived in September just as I wanted for MSRP.

It's a real crap-shoot.. I know of a few people who went out of state to get there cars..

Good Luck..

Steve (k2we) Dobbs Ferry,

ZpikeZ

I live in North Jersey and ordered my Z @ MSRP on 12/5 from Warnock Nissan on Ridgedale Avenue in Morristown. Expected delivery is in March ... after the snow ends. (hopefully).

BFG10

Go to Route 22 Nissan and ask for Tony Andres. He sold me mine and he's a good guy. (If you go, tell him Brian sent you) They have plenty in stock and you should not have a problem getting it at MSRP. They move a lot of cars and can afford to make a few bucks less on each given the volume. Of course, as with any dealership, know you're stuff and be firm. But I had a very pleasant experience with them. And the car is awesome.

ZpikeZ

I found Warnock Nissan because I drive through that area quite often. I live in Randolph like 10 minutes away.

Brian Rispardi was the sales guy there ... kind of intimidating at first, but overall i was satisfied with him and the dealership. (Scared the crap out of me during the test drive ... they'll let you take out the red track if you ask). They are selling @ MSRP, but maybe now you can haggle under that. He played a few of those dealer "tricks" with me, but as long as you read EVERYTHING you should be okay. I was told at first it was a "refundable" $1000 deposit but somehow on the order form it was "non-refundable". There is a small doc fee (like under 100 bucks) and nothing else. I got my order # on December 6th and they said late Feb/early March for delivery ... they are alloted 5 cars per month i think. Oh and one more thing ... make sure you tell them you don't want the VIN etching fee ... they will put it on if you don't say anything. Hope this helps.

davez

I ordered my Z from Warnock Nissan in Morristown. Ordered late august took delivery on dec 12. Talk to Auther Melchandia. Thay are great guys, and they hooked me up.

sicktypes

DAVEZ...you live in boonton? me too...where do you live? i never saw a Z around here....

Traffic

I got mine from Acme Nissan on Rt. 130 in South Brunswick. All around good people, if you ask me. They seem to have pretty high volume so I guess they get at least their fair share of Zs per month.

davez

I live over on Roessler St. where do you live? I owned a grey 87 300zx all through highschool just sold it to my friend, it was my daily driver, now the 350 has taken its place?

sicktypes

lorraine terr....where is roessler st.?...just out of curiosity, how old are you? i'm 18...i wanna check out your Z

davez

its over by the highschool, yeah you can check out my Z but right now its under a cover and its covered with ice

TheOne

hows the dohc nissan dealer in freehold on rt9?

rocknrice

I was up in Jersey checking out the Zs and to possibly buy but had a horrible experience with a Nissan dealer on route 22. Unfortunately, b/c I look young (I'm 27 but look like around 24) I get no respect in car dealerships.

There are 2 Nissan dealers on rt 22. The ony way that I can describe the location (as I forgot the name) is the Nissan dealership on the left past the Kmart as you're heading to Union from New Brunswick. The other Nissan dealership closer to the Boston Market and "Boat" restaurant was definitely nicer to deal with.

I ended up buying my Z back near home in North Carolina.

Sorry for the shabby directions. Hope this helps.

DmitryZ

Thanks for the reply Rock

:I was up in Jersey checking out the Zs and to possibly buy
:but had a horrible experience with a Nissan dealer on
:route 22. Unfortunately, b/c I look young (I'm 27 but look
:like around 24) I get no respect in car dealerships.

Lol. same here. I have to drag my dad down with me just to get the salespeople to look at me.

:There are 2 Nissan dealers on rt 22.

Actually there are three (see my previous post) and they are all on the left. lol

:The ony way that I can describe the location (as I forgot
:the name) is the Nissan dealership on the left past the Kmart
:as you're heading to Union from New Brunswick.

I think that one is East Coast Nissan (formerly known as bristol nissan). Did you see a "Treasure Island" by any chance?


:The other Nissan dealership closer to the Boston
:Market and "Boat" restaurant was definitely nicer to deal with.

??????. Are you sure the "Boat" restaraunt wasn't a "nobody beats the Wiz" store? (Nissan World or used to be Nissan and Alfa) I wish you had remembered the names. But thanks for the input anyway. I will be on the lookout for any Boston Markets and "boat" restaurants on my way to work tomorrow!

Dmitry